TINTON FALLS — Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider pulled no punches Monday when giving his opinion of Jersey Central Power & Light’s performance in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

“They don’t care about service to the ratepayers,” he told an assemblage of Monmouth County mayors and emergency management personnel in the borough municipal building. “If they gave a damn about what happened, they would have done something already.”

What got Schneider angry was what he and other mayors described as the dismal response given by JCP&L to the mass power outages faced by Shore area residents after Sandy hit.

The mayors spoke at the third-annual “Snow Summit” sponsored by the borough. Moderating the event were borough Mayor Michael Skudera and Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore.

Skudera and Fiore said the summit’s purpose was to gather ideas to help the utility towns regain power in the event of another disaster.

JCP&L has said the damage was greater than that experienced by Tropical Storm Irene and last year's October snowstorm, which also caused widespread power outages. A JCP&L spokesman could not be reached for comment Monday, but the utility previously has defended its performance.

“We put together an army of resources from across the country to repair the damage we sustained, rebuild the system and restore customers to service,” JCP&L spokesman Ron Morano said last week. “JCP&L employees, contractors and mutual aid crews put forth an incredible effort to restore customers as safely and quickly as possible.”

While Skudera and Fiore emphasized the point of the meeting was not to bash JCP&L, some mayors couldn’t help themselves.

“Did anyone see any evidence in any of your towns that JCP&L gives a damn about any of us?” Schnieder asked.

Chief among the mayors’ complaints was the lack of communication between the company and the towns, especially regarding when customers’ service could be restored.

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“We took about 40,000 calls from our residents about JCP&L,” Fiore said. “We are not their call center. People turn to us when they don’t get information.”

The mayors were also concerned that the utility was not aware of priority areas that needed to be brought back on the power grid first.

“I have a hospital that they had to be convinced was a priority,” Schneider said. He was speaking about Monmouth Medical Center.

“We need communication and input as to what is important,” said Howell Mayor Robert Walsh.

Colts Neck Mayor Jarrett R. Engel told his colleagues that his borough “took control of our town by shepherding” utility company repair crews to trouble spots.

“We were kind of building the boat while sailing,” he said.

Some mayors were angry that residents have to call in when their power goes out.

“I can’t believe in the 21st Century a utility company can’t highlight an area that has no power, that you have to call in and tell them that you’re out of power,” said Holmdel Mayor Patrick Impreviduto.

The mayors eventually went into a closed session roundtable discussion to develop a list of suggestions that will be shared with county and state legislators, in the hope that the utility can improve its post-disaster performance.